Correction: The story should have said the incident occurred in Building 17 of The Landings at Chandler Crossings.

On Nov. 18, East Lansing police responded to a call made from The Landings at Chandler Crossings, where large amounts of blood could be seen on the hallway walls and carpeting of Building 16's third floor, police Lt. Kevin Daley said.

The complaint was made about a 19-year-old East Lansing resident who was trying to enter an apartment on that floor. The men live there said they knew the suspect but didn't want him inside, Daley said. The group had been drinking since 7 a.m. that day.

When officers located the man, Daley said the suspect was instructed to show his hands but refused and continued to be combative. Daley said when the suspect was warned that police would use a Taser gun to immobilize him, the suspect said, "You are going to go ahead and have to shoot me."

Four police units responded to the scene, and Daley said the police felt like they needed to take control of the situation by Tasing the suspect.

But the incident at The Landings isn't the only Tasing that has put the device in headlines recently.

Two weeks ago, a UCLA police officer checking student IDs in the library shot a 23-year-old student with a Taser.

A similar incident occurred Nov. 6 at a Saginaw City Council meeting following a scuffle involving a man and police who were arguing about violating a rule against wearing hats inside.

The incidents have led to a debate about the appropriateness of the device — which is used to immobilize by shooting electrified darts — and whether or not the shock it administers is too much.

At issue are the dart-like wires that cause instant incapacitation with an approximately 50,000-volt shock.

More than 100 people have died in Taser-related incidents since 1999, according to reports by Amnesty International and numerous newspapers.

East Lansing police Chief Tom Wibert said in the two years East Lansing officers have carried the device, the weapon has been used once or twice per month, totaling 23 times this past year to date.

Each officer was instructed on how and when to use the Taser, a training that included several scenarios officers could encounter.

Wibert added that officers are required to submit a use of force report that is reviewed by department officials when individuals are Tased.

"Police personnel will not use more force than is necessary, but there is a lot of judgment about what is reasonable and what is not," Wibert said.

"It's up to the officer, and the Taser is considered to be non-deadly force with no permanent injury."

At MSU, criminal justice Assistant Professor William Terrill is working on a project for the U.S. Department of Justice analyzing the various types of force policies used by police departments around the country.

In his preliminary findings, he said agencies in the northeastern part of the country are more reluctant to encourage their officers to carry the device due to its controversial nature.

"It's the hot topic, the number one issue at this moment — people want to know if it causes death, when should we use it or should we use it on a passively aggressive subject or physically aggressive," Terrill said.

Terrill and a Florida researcher are surveying 1,000 agencies around the country about their policies and plan to follow eight similar agencies.

The project's $376,255 grant runs through 2007.

Dr. Jared Strote, a Washington state emergency room physician, conducted a study about Taser-related deaths by analyzing the autopsies of people who died in conjunction with Taser use.

He said it is still unclear if a sting from the device can kill a person, but when used properly, Taser guns are probably safer for officers than other "less-lethal" weapons like batons or mace.

Taser guns are also safer than lethal weapons, like handguns, for the suspects, he added.

"The study I did showed that when people died in conjunction with Taser use, it was often in situations where people being restrained by law enforcement are already at a higher risk of death," Strote wrote in an e-mail.

"(Other) studies of Tasers on healthy people show that they do little if any damage. The question is whether they could hurt someone who had pre-existing heart disease or a metabolic abnormality."

MSU police carry the device, and Sgt. Jill Geile said the department's policy states it is to be used when a person is actively resisting or exhibiting aggression and could possibly harm themselves or others.

"It's an intermediate weapon," Geile said.

"Instead of fighting hand-to-hand and then the next step is the gun, the Taser is 'in between' if we can't control them."

But it's not the "in between" for every department, as Terrill said there is no universal regulatory policy regarding force in the more than 15,000 separate police departments where Taser guns are used.

"We are looking to see if it should be used as the last resort or more as a first resort," Terrill said.

"There is not set agreement about what is the appropriate way."

Maggie Lillis is a State News staff writer. She can be reached at lillisma@msu.edu.